 Almost obnoxiously brilliant |
| Review Date: March 6, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Ryan E. Doyle, |
The music and lyrics to this album have such a swaggering, defiant, playful brilliance that it might have even embarrassed Bob himself. Notice how he followed this up with the much quieter, humbler John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline? It's almost as if Dylan was saying, "Okay, I'll be a nice, sweet, down to earth boy from now on".
People praise Dylan for his lyrics, but the music itself on this album is almost impossibly catchy with it's swinging, piercing, galloping sound.
And people say Dylan is political......there isn't one political song on his masterpiece. Every song is about women. Yes, Rainy Day Women is not really about pot; he's just using a drug metaphor to diss fickle, backstabbing women.
But of course there is the lyrics and this record has some of the coolest one liners ever known to man. "You say my kisses are not like his / But this time I'm not gonna tell you why that is". "But to live outside the law you must be honest". And last but not least, "I saw you making love with him / You forgot to close the garage door". Ladies, do NOT get on Bobby's bad side!
Which is of course what makes Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands so breathtaking. The guy who seems to diss everyone and everything and not believe in anything.........and he comes out with the most beautiful love song ever written to close the album. Most love songs are not about the girl, they're about the singer and how HE feels. Sad Eyed Lady is incredible becuause it paints a picture of a girl and you can almost imagine what she's like! It's Dylan's lyrical and musical Mona Lisa. Who....of course....had the highway blues. You can tell by the way she smiles. |
Exactly what I was looking for!
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| Review Date: February 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: schoboat, New Orleans, LA USA |
| Heard Fifteen Jugglers (great song!) and thought I should check out the album the song was from (not being a fan or knowledgeable of Bob Dylan's work off the beaten path). I knew that this would be a taste I would have to acquire if you're not already a Bob Dylan fan and it has been (I had a similar experience with The Band's Music from Big Pink album). After listening to it in small doses getting used to Bob Dylan's singing style and lyrics, I hear more and more each time I listen to it. While much has been made of Bob Dylan's lyrics, I did not know how much musicianship I would find. Then realizing that this was done in 1966, it really was cutting edge in so many ways (musically as well as lyrically). I highly recommend it with the caveat that it can be like learning to like dark beer, an acquired taste. |
Hmmm....
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| Review Date: February 1, 2010 |
| Reviewer: E. Minkovitch, Montreal, Quebec |
I have to add my voice to the very few dissidents who think this album is waaaaaay over-hyped and over-rated, with questionable lyrics and limited compositional depth, however...
Even though Dylan is not everyone's cup of tea, and can be really annoying at best, and morbid at worst (does he ever smile, I wonder? He was much more a poseur with his studied, cold aloofness, than Beatles ever were, even when they tried, with their genuine charm and warmth), however his great achievement is in inspiring other musicians to shake off years of dross and think forward, and create original music. He literally lit a fire under the Beatles' butts and spurred them on to create masterpieces like Rubber Soul and Revolver. He gave the Byrds their magical multi-colored Tambourine. He gave Jimi Hendrix his Watchtower, from which he sent forth legions of guitar heroes to conquer the world. I admit, I don't understand how Dylan did it, because I don't understand or even like his music, but I am sure glad he was around!
I admit, this is a sacrilegious review that is sure to tick off a few readers, but hey, now and then a fool has to come out of the crowd, point and scream: "the emperor is naked! the emperor is naked!". |
NOT A CD - BUT LP AS TITLE SUGGESTS
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| Review Date: December 31, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Planchon, Western N.C. |
Just a word of warning as I was confused by this myself, Amazon has this cataloged as a CD but this is a double LP - as the title suggests.
IMHO, one of Dylan's best creative efforts in the mid '60s experimenting with rock. |
The Greatest Blonde
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| Review Date: December 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Lawrence J. Epstein, New York |
This is one of the greatest albums ever made. The sound Dylan achieved in Nashville is perfect, sometimes bluesy, sometimes country, and always rock and roll. The lyrics are surely among the most enigmatic and emotionally-charged he has written. "Visions of Johanna" is arguably the best song on the album. Every line is filled with longing and loss, with love of a spiritual kind struggling with love of an earthly kind, with startling images presented with that haunting sound. Other songs--"Just Like a Woman" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie" for example--are filled with the same sort of desperate desire, a deep need for some connection that doesn't quite work out.
This was the first important double album in rock history. For many listeners, it was the third of the greatest trilogy of albums ever. "Blonde on Blonde" was the last album released before Dylan's famous accident, and so it is regarded as marking the end of a particular era in Dylan's life, one filled with confusion and uncertain identity. The album is Dylan's attempt to find a language to describe the anguish and the search he undertook.
I'm not sure this album is the best introduction to Dylan. "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" or "The Times They Are A-Changin'" might do that, but this, along with "Bringing it All Back Home," "Highway 61 Revisited," and "Blood on the Tracks" ought to be known by everyone who loves music.
--Lawrence J. Epstein, author of Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan
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